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Italian Festive Cake (Bustrengo)

Italian Festive Cake (Bustrengo) is traditional Christmas cake with dried figs, apples, lemon zest, honey, olive oil, and polenta. Bursting with festive flavours, it is beautiful dense yet moist dessert.

Course Dessert
Cuisine Italian
Keyword Italian Festive Cake (Bustrengo)

Ingredients

  • 11/2 cup yellow polenta
  • ¾ cup all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • 1 Tbsp orange zest
  • Pinch of salt
  • 4 Tbsp white sugar
  • 1/3 tsp cinnamon
  • 3/4 cup dry figs, chopped
  • 2 ½ Tbsp dark rum
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 large apple, peeled, cored, grated ( makes 1 cup )
  • 2 Tbsp honey
  • 4 Tbsp olive oil
  • ½ cup milk
  • ½ cup tangerine juice ( 1 large tangerine )

Instructions

  1. In a mug, combine chopped figs and dark rum and leave aside.
  2. Preheat the oven to 180 C / 356 F.

  3. Grease rounded 7 inches pan and leave aside.

  4. In a medium sized bowl, combine polenta, all-purpose flour, lemon and orange zest, salt, sugar, and cinnamon. Leave aside.

  5. In another bowl, mix wet ingredients: eggs, honey, olive oil , milk and tangerine juice.

  6. Add dry ingredients to the wet ones. At the end add apples and combine well.
  7. Pour the mixture into the pan.

  8. Top the mixture with figs. Some of them will sink and it is all right.

  9. Bake for 45 minutes. when done, leave to rest for 10 minutes and loose the pan.

  10. Serve warm, garnished with powdered sugar.

  11. Keep in fridge, covered, but I suggest you warm in microwave when having next slice to enjoy.